How to Familiarize Myself With Words I Already Know
November 25, 2014 8:59 AM   Subscribe

I have a list of several hundred words which I often forget to use in conversation or in writing (I compiled it by jotting down words I've found myself fishing for). I know their definitions, but I'd like to better familiarize myself with them, so they're more in the "front of my mind" and I don't have to eternally fish for them (e.g. astringent, banal, lascivious, subsume, criteria, duress, affectation).

The problem with lists is they overfamiliarize the top words and underfamiliarize the bottom ones. So I guess I need a randomizer. Flash card/learning apps aren't appropriate, because there's nothing to quiz; I well know the definitions of all these words; so this is not a "learning" task, just familiarization. I simply need a series of words randomly brought to my attention. Also, there are several hundred words on my list, so if the solution's an iPhone app, I'd need a way to bulk-upload the list (rather than peck them all in via iPhone keyboard).

I realize there won't be an app tailor-made for this esoteric need, but I'm hoping for a creative solution cannibalizing/piggy-backing other technologies. How would YOU familiarize a list of several hundred words whose definitions you knew?

I asked this a couple years ago, but none of the proposed solutions (mostly flash card apps) worked. Word Alarm came close, but there's no bulk uploading, nor is it actively developed/updated.
posted by Quisp Lover to Writing & Language (15 answers total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
Response by poster: )

Parentheses closed. OCDs: you're welcome!
posted by Quisp Lover at 9:01 AM on November 25, 2014


Response by poster: Also: to deflect push-back on why conventional learning apps won't work, there's no way to gauge how familiarized I'm getting with a given word. The moment I see "banal", it becomes completely familiar. There won't be a point where I feel I've "adequately familiarized" myself, and require less prompting of that word. So learning algorithms will work against me.

I realize I could use a stripped-down flashcard app without learning algorithms, but needing to retire each word, even via a simple "yes/no", is still the wrong model. If it's to be an app, I'd rather that words just simply wheel in and out, perhaps with an optional "next" button.
posted by Quisp Lover at 9:09 AM on November 25, 2014


I think if it were me, I would just randomly pick 5-10 words every day, and tell myself I had to use them that day, in either writing or speech, with another person. I would just randomize the order using a Google Docs spreadsheet so I could access it from my phone or my desktop (drop all the words in column A, then at the top of column B type "=rand()" (no quotes), fill down, sort by column B), and then make a mark in column C as you use them, maybe even including the sentence (or at least the context) in which you used them. Go down the list, then re-randomize and start again. But the way to familiarize yourself with them is to use them, not just look at them.
posted by brainmouse at 9:22 AM on November 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


What about something like Freerice.com? It's intended to expand vocabulary by quizzing you on the meaning of (increasingly obscure) words as you're getting them right, but I also find it a pretty good method of exposing me to uncommon words I haven't thought about in a while. Plus at least in theory you wind up donating food to the UN.
posted by sciatrix at 9:28 AM on November 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I was going to describe how to do this in a spreadsheet program, then I just went ahead and wrote it in Google Drive. You should be able to view and download, either into your google drive or into Excel and put your own wordlist into Column A of the second sheet.

I recommend Excel because you can automatically refresh the random word by pressing F9 (in Windows Excel), but in Google Drive you can force it to refresh by editing a cell or reloading the page.
posted by muddgirl at 9:36 AM on November 25, 2014 [3 favorites]


Oops, "Control + r" will force a refresh in a Google Spreadsheet, so that solution works just as well.
posted by muddgirl at 9:39 AM on November 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Kleio lets you create your own flashcards and deals with the issue of weighting the words you don't know as well. (I am unclear on the current status of the app but the original Creator Mike Feyer is a Mefite so you might ask in Twitter.)
posted by DarlingBri at 9:46 AM on November 25, 2014


Maybe this isn't exactly the answer you're looking for - but read. Read lots. Read lots by people who use a large vocabulary of words that you don't in ways that you don't.. I know when I'm getting stuck in a rut in word usage, seeing words being used that I had forgotten that I knew makes me remember and use them again.
posted by Zalzidrax at 10:42 AM on November 25, 2014 [4 favorites]


Yes, FreeRice is good to run through in the morning and pick a word or several to work into a conversation, if you can. Seconding reading!
posted by BlueHorse at 6:22 PM on November 25, 2014


Response by poster: "the way to familiarize yourself with them is to use them, not just look at them"

Oh, of course. But I need to look at them first, because the inherent problem is that I can't think of them otherwise.

Muddgirl, that's really creative. I downloaded it and loaded it up, and let me see if it's something I can get in the habit of using (not being a big spreadsheet guy). Thanks!
posted by Quisp Lover at 8:53 PM on November 25, 2014


*Super Nerd Alert*
In high school, I wrote the words I wanted to integrate into my daily use on my white Keds. Whenever I put in my shoes, I'd glance at them all. I also wrote words I looked up in the dictionary on the endpapers of my dictionary, and every time I looked up a new word, I read through all of the previous words.

Now, I use an iPhone app that is somewhat helpful called Word Word--same thing: whenever I find a word I'd like to be more in my working vocab, I note it there and go back over them any time I add a new one.

I guess if I had any friends, they'd be super impressed with my vocabulary. :) (But really, I have a terrific working vocabulary, and I can only hope that I come off as "charmingly quirky" to my many wonderful friends.)

So maybe write down a few words every week and place them somewhere you'll see a few minutes a day? Like at your sink as you brush your teeth?
posted by thebrokedown at 7:13 PM on November 26, 2014


Best answer: Maybe the spreadsheet solutions above are closest to what you need, but I'd like to suggest you reconsider flashcard apps.

I am a huge fan of Anki, one of the best flashcard programs around. It's free on most platforms; it's a paid app on iOS, but it does sync nicely with the desktop version. (There's also iAnki, a free ad-supported alternative.)

The thing is, you don't have to use it in the usual way, prompting you for definitions; you can use it however you want. So, for example, when "astringent" comes up, you could use that to prompt you to come up with a sentence using the word, or whatever.

Anki will show you the words in random order, but then - once you've gone through them once - it focuses on the ones you haven't seen recently. It keeps track of which ones you've reviewed, and when.

So, you could pop your words in to Anki (it has an import feature, too), and then, each day, go through 3 or 5 cards - whatever you like - like this:

Anki: "astringent"
Quisp Lover: "This wine tastes astringent." (presses 1 on the keyboard to tell Anki you've done this word)

Anki: "duress"
Quisp Lover: "I would only go to a costume party under fancy duress." (presses 1)

Anki: "criteria"
Quisp Lover: "I have specific criteria for inclusion in my film collection." (presses 1)

... and you're done for the day, and Anki will give you new words tomorrow.
posted by kristi at 7:33 PM on November 26, 2014


Response by poster: thebrokedown - no bulk uploading with Word Word, alas.

kristi, that may, in fact be the best solution, after all (though I keep intuiting there's a better way somehow...maybe I should, indeed write them on my sneakers). Thing is, one sentence and done would not be my approach. I'd want a word hovering around me for a while, so I'd think about it, try to fit it into conversation, and mentally create several sentences about it. Not the crisp, definable, "okay-got-it-let's-move-on" action flashcards demand. But I suppose a flashcard could hover, though I'd have to actually go into the app to be hovered upon. It'd be better if it were the screensaver on my iphone.

Hmm...

I wonder if there's a an iphone screensaver which randomly rotates among user-customized slides, and I could create a slide for each word....
posted by Quisp Lover at 6:07 AM on November 27, 2014


Response by poster: Turns out that Macs have a "word of the day" screensaver which takes its word list from this file:
/System/Library/Graphics/Quartz Composer Plug-Ins/WOTD.plugin

If you left-click on WOTD.plugin and choose "show package contents", and open the Resources folder (inside the Content folder), the word list is at NOAD_wotd_list.txt

I've not found a way to edit the list without crashing system preferences upon running the screensaver, but I'll keep noodling....
posted by Quisp Lover at 6:36 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Jesus, this was a pain, but I did it.

Here's how to automate the process of turning each word of a word list into a (small) image file of that word......and then upload those images onto your iPhone or iPad, and create a randomized slideshow. It's easier if you're working with a shorter list, so you don't need the automation.

Brace yourself.

In OS X (Lion or later), follow these directions to create an Automator which will convert a selected bit of text into an image file, making this process a "Service".

Create a list of words in Text Edit, with one word per line. Bold them, capitalize them, center-justify the document, and set the font to 72.

Create an Applescript that selects one line at a time, triggers the service you just created, then deletes the selection and moves to next line. Set it to repeat enough times to process the entire list.

Run the script. You will have a number of PNG files written to your desktop. Put them into a new folder.

Connect your mobile device to your computer, launch iTunes, and set it to synch photos from this folder to your device.

When synch has completed, go to Photos on your device (these directions are for iOs 8 and later only) and create a new album.

Hit Edit (top right)

Hit Add (bottom center)

tap to select all the word images

Hit Done (top right)

On your device, go to "Settings/Photos & Camera"

Scroll to Slideshow, adjust parameters, and turn "shuffle" (i.e. randomize) on.

Open Photos app

Navigate to that Album

Tap a photo

Hit the share button

Choose Slideshow

Hit Start Slideshow

Voila. What could be easier?

Unsolvable problem: if you swipe for the next slide, the slideshow ends and you will have gone alphabetically rather than randomly. So you have to let the slideshow "do its thing", even if you'd like to advance faster.
posted by Quisp Lover at 2:23 PM on December 29, 2014


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